Pocono Raceway

**Pocono Raceway**
*Pocono International Raceway*
	Long Pond , Pennsylvania , USA
Route type:	permanent race track
Owner:	Mattioli family
Operator:	Mattioli family
Opening:	1968
Superspeedway oval
	Tri-oval
	Route data
Important ; events:	Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series; Axalta presents the Pocono 400 ; Overton's 400 NASCAR Xfinity Series; Pocono Green 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series; Overton's 150 ARCA Racing Series; General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 ; ModSpace 150 IndyCar Series; ABC Supply 500
Route length:	4.01 km (2.49 mi )
Curve superelevation:	Curve 1: 14 ° ; Curve 2: 8 ° ; Curve 3: 6 °
Audience capacity:	76,812
	Records
Course record: ; (qualification)	00: 40.202 min. ; (Juan Pablo Montoya, Team Penske, 2014)
	http://www.poconoraceway.com

41.055277777778 -75.511388888889Coordinates: 41 ° 3 ′ 19 ″ N , 75 ° 30 ′ 41 ″ W.

The Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway ) is a super speedway in Blakeslee , in the Pocono Mountains in the US state of Pennsylvania near Long Pond . It is the venue for two annual races of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series , which take place only a few weeks apart in June and August, as well as one race of the IndyCar Series .

The Pocono Raceway is one of the very few NASCAR tracks that is not owned by Speedway Motorsports or International Speedway Corporation . Next to which it belongs South Boston Speedway in South Boston ( Virginia the Mattioli family).

In addition to the NASCAR races, the racetrack is used all year round by sports car and motorcycle clubs as well as racing driver schools. The tri-oval also has three separate sections in the infield of the track, the north course, east course and south course. Each of the three sections uses a separate part of the tri-oval for its route. On the regular weekends when there are no races, the clubs can use the racetrack at the same time in the different sections. Some sections also allow driving in both directions as well as the combination between the sections.

Champ Cars / IndyCars

Between 1971 and 1989, the IndyCar Series and USAC National Championship drove at Pocono Raceway, holding a 500 mile race. In 1989, Emerson Fittipaldi set a new course record in qualifying with 211.715 mph (340.722 km / h). However, after the race in 1989 there was criticism that the track was too rough and the safety measures were inadequate. As a result, Pocono was removed from the calendar. In the 2013 season , the IndyCar series returned to the Pocono Raceway. Here was the qualifying of Marco Andretti , a new course record with 221.273 mph (356.028 km / h) set up.

Race of Champions

Between 1977 and 1991 the Race of Champions for touring cars took place at Pocono Raceway, a prestigious race in the USA. The Race of Champions was the successor to the Langhorne National Open, which took place in Pocono from 1951 to 1971. Champions from other racetracks in the Northeast and Southeast received a guaranteed starting place, while a large field of drivers from many other states tried to qualify for the races. In the first three years from 1977 to 1979 the race took place on the 2.5 mile long tri-oval, from 1980 on the oval in the infield with a length of 0.75 miles. Richie Evans and George Kent were the most successful drivers at the event, each winning two races out of 15 races. In 1992 the Race of Champions was moved from Pocono to Flemington Speedway .

Route configuration

The Pocono Raceway has a unique design. Each curve was planned and built after curves on three different racetracks. The now closed Trenton Speedway served as a model for Turn 1, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Turn 2 and Turn 3 is similar to the Milwaukee Mile . Although it resembles a tri-oval in shape, the curves are much tighter and in the style of hairpin bends, making the route almost a triangle. To make matters worse, the curves are not identical and the straight lines also have different lengths. The start and finish straight often requires an additional upshift. Although the route is long, the average speed is lower than on routes of comparable length, which is due to the narrow and slightly elevated curves.

Due to the non-round design of the Pocono Raceway, the configuration of the cars and the skill of the crew is even more important than on other racetracks. There are basically only two opinions among drivers: some like them, others not. In many cases, this depends on how your driving style fits the route and whether the crew is able to adapt the car to the particular circumstances of the route.

Special events

August 4, 1974: Richard Petty wins the inaugural Pocono 500 race .
August 1, 1976: Petty takes a popular win after David Pearson blows a tire with two laps to go.
July 20, 1986: Tim Richmond returns to the track after an accident and wins against Ricky Rudd and Geoff Bodine in a photo finish.
June 18, 2000: Jeremy Mayfield throws Dale Earnhardt out of the race and takes his second win in the Winston Cup.
July 28, 2002: Steve Park and Dale Earnhardt junior get entangled at the exit of Turn 1. Both cars hit the inner boundary, lifting off Park and flying over the hood of the Earnhardts. The incident resulted in a lengthy stoppage of the race in which the old barrier as used on highways had to be repaired. A short time later, all similar old limits were replaced with new robust ones.
2006: Rookie of the Year Denny Hamlin wins both races in Pocono.
2015: Driver Justin Wilson dies after a collision with a part of a vehicle belonging to a competitor who had previously had an accident.

criticism

Many fans and drivers claimed that the Pocono 500 mile race was taking too long. Some Cup Series drivers also said that the circuit was the boringest on the NASCAR calendar and that they would like to see the race distance shortened to 400 miles, whose wish was granted in 2012. Some fans also called for a Nationwide Series or Craftsman Truck Series race in the supporting program, as Pocono Raceway is the only race track besides Indianapolis Motor Speedway that does not hold at least one race of the series mentioned. The only race in the supporting program is the ARCA series.

run

Current

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Pocono 400
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Pennsylvania 400
IndyCar Series - ABC Supply 500
ARCA Racing Series - Pocono ARCA 200
ARCA Racing Series - Pennsylvania ARCA 125

Former

USAC and CART - Pocono 500 (1971–1989)

Records

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: Kyle Larson , 183,438 mph (295,215 km / h), 2014
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race: Jeff Gordon , 145,384 mph (233,972 km / h), 2011
IndyCar Qualifying: Juan Pablo Montoya , 223,871 mph (360,285 km / h), 2014
IndyCar race: Juan Pablo Montoya, 202,402 mph (325,734 km / h), 2014
CART Qualifying: Emerson Fittipaldi , 211.715 mph (340.649 km / h), 1989
CART race: Danny Sullivan , 170.720 mph (274.688 km / h), 1989

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ http://www.nascar.com/2005/news/opinion/06/13/cross.words.pocono/index.html